Chapter 1: Introductions
Flashback
Several years ago
"Mommy, I want to play in the ocean!" 7 year-old Percy Jackson gripped his mother's hand with an air of excitement. "Please? Please? Please?"
Sally Jackson laughed, her dazzling white teeth catching the sun's rays as she smiled. "Sure, Percy. But you know the rules, right?"
"Yes!" The little boy said, smiling crookedly, accidentally showing off several missing teeth. "Don't go underwater for longer then five minutes, and don't attract attention to myself, and…" He said, trailing off, after a silence.
"Don't talk to strange creatures." Sally smiled encouragingly. "Have fun, Percy."
Percy waved at his mother, running full speed at the ocean. As the waves reached his height, he disappeared, but Sally wasn't worried. She knew that Percy's father would be protecting him in his domain, and that the little boy could breathe underwater.
A flash of movement caught Sally's eye, and she turned to see three kids of varying ages. The youngest seemed to be around 7 or 8 - Percy's age - with curly, golden hair and dark eyes. The other two were a tad older, perhaps around twelve and fourteen. The boy had short blonde hair and was very tall for his young age. The other girl had short raven-colored black hair, and as she turned to look at Sally, she noticed that she had electric blue eyes.
The black-haired girl nudged the boy, and they both turned to look at Sally. Giving them an embarrassed smile, Sally turned away from the trio, pulling out a book. She settled down in the sand, watching the ocean as she read.
As the minutes ticked by, she began to grow worried. Her son had not yet reemerged from the sea. Fighting down her worry, she picked up a small wooden stick. Hiding the stick from view, she cast her magic into the ocean—something that would show a dazzling array of light from the water to signal Percy to come back out from the depths of the sea.
Unbeknownst to her, her slight movement had caught the trio's eyes. More specifically, the eyes of the youngest girl. The young girl's divided attention caught the attention of the two older kids.
"Annabeth?" The boy had asked the little girl. "What is it?"
"I dunno." She said, pouting. "The lady had a stick; but it was sort of familiar."
The older kids shared a glance, but shrugged it off. Kids. The two seemed to agree.
Not a moment later, Percy's form came out from the ocean. But the little boy was not being as evasive as he should have been; for he was holding a giant shell and screaming, "Mommy!"
Sally Jackson rose to her feet. "Percy what is that in your hand?"
"It's a shell!" The little boy held it up for his mother to see. "Daddy gave it to me."
"That's very pretty, dear." Sally's eyes scanned the shoreline. The only people that were near the duo were the three kids, and they were all staring at her.
Sally smiled dismissively. "Kids find the darndest things, don't they?" She said playfully to the other group, but her voice was shaky. She would have to talk to Percy about announcing things out loud like the sea was his father.
"Excuse me." The fourteen-year-old boy rose to his feet. "Did he just say-?"
"No, he didn't." Sally said, her voice rising so the teenager could hear her.
"Yes he did." The preteen girl agreed, giving the teenager a knowing look.
Sally stopped dead. "Are you three…?"
"Demigods?" The older boy said inquisitively, and after a moment of silence, he said; "Yes."
The young girl locked her eyes onto Percy. "Is that a conch shell?"
"Yes." Percy strode over to the girl before Sally could even blink. "My daddy gave it to me."
"Your daddy?" The little girl's eyes clouded with pain and misery. Such a haunting look for someone so young—it broke Sally's heart. "My daddy didn't want me."
"That's okay." Percy said, handing her the conch shell. "You can have this. My daddy would want you to have it."
The little girl gasped, taking the shell as if it were made of glass. "Really?"
Percy nodded, his vibrant green eyes dancing with excitement. "I found it beside the coral reef. It's so huge! Daddy says I shouldn't go there." He lowered his voice, but children were terrible at whispering. "But I go anyway."
"I'm Annabeth." The girl said.
"I'm Percy." He extended out his hand, and the little girl shook it with a laugh.
Sally Jackson locked eyes with the other two kids. "It seems as if we have some things to talk about."
"Yes, it seems so." The boy said, getting to his feet. His tall form was scrawny—undernourished. Sally absentmindedly wondered if the boy was eating enough, but then she saw that the other two bore the same tiny frames.
Sally smiled. "How about we catch something to eat on the way home?"
The boy smiled. "I think we'd like that."
Four years later
11-year-old Percy Jackson was already having a bad day when he got home that night. He and Annabeth had gotten into a fight—for their first time ever—over something so small, so stupid. How could she say that dolphins creeped her out? Dolphins were one of the most majestic creatures of the ocean. Someday he'd teach her what it meant to be the son of the sea—if she could bore him for hours about architecture, he would just have to do the same thing about marine life.
"Mom?" He called out, jingling his keys as he opened the door to their house. "Mom, I'm home!"
Percy kicked off his shoes by the door, and upon hearing the TV going in the living room, made his way there. He was more surprised then confused to see not his mother on the couch—but an old man. The man turned to see him on his arrival, and started to get up from the cozy chair.
"Hello, Perseus." The man said.
Percy's eyes widened. This man knows my name!
Percy's hand lowered to his pocket where he kept his sword, Anaklusmos, and immediately had uncapped it and shoved it in the direction of the old man. "S-stay back!" He warned, his voice showing his surprise and fear.
The old man laughed, and for the first time Percy noticed he had an English accent. "Dear me, there is no need for that, Perseus. Come and have a seat. Let's talk."
Indecision flowed through him. After a tense moment of silence, he sat in the chair across from the man. "Who are you?" He asked.
"My name is Albus Dumbledore." Albus smiled kindly.
"I've heard that name before." Percy said, silent for a minute. "Okay, tell me where i'm supposed to hear it."
Albus laughed quietly. "I'm the headmaster of Hogwarts."
Percy's mouth extended into a wide O shape. "But… that's in Europe! Why are you here, in New York City?"
"Ah, that's the pickle, isn't it?" Albus said, reaching into his pocket, pulling out a scroll. From seemingly nowhere, he put on a pair of small glasses and read from the paper:
"Perseus Jackson of New York City, USA, is cordially invited to learn at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry on the condition that he accepts the offer of a part of the Ministry of Magic, details enclosed below."
"What?" Percy said. "Why would they want an eleven year-old in the Ministry of Magic?"
"You see, Percy, just like when each new witch or wizard is born, sometimes greater things are on the horizon for this new generation. This is a secret, but the Minister for Magic-the president for lack of a better word—is also born into the position. When the current minister reaches a certain age, the next suitable candidate for replacement is born. Could you imagine the uproar it caused when they found out the next Minister was American? Dear me, I thought they were going to have an aneurism."
"I don't understand." Percy frowned. "The new Minister of Magic is born into it?"
"Yes." Albus said with a small smile.
"But… shouldn't they just be voted in like normal?" He scratched his chin.
"But that leaves a greater expectation on the elected, doesn't it?" Albus asked. "No, it's far much simpler if the next person to acquire the position has been trained for it for years."
"But you're not the Minster, are you?" Percy asked him. "You said you were headmaster of Hogwarts."
"Correct," Albus said. "As to the answer to your question, I was the minister. When the government collapsed many years ago, the people felt I wasn't taking my position correctly and replaced me. We all assumed that the old system that had been working for generations was over with."
"So how did you find out it was me?" Percy hesitated. "How did you find me? My mom's a witch, you know. She has protective spells around this entire house!"
"Oh, your mother let me in." Albus said, his light blue eyes twinkling with amusement. "She just recently left for work; she had an emergency, you see."
Percy was silent. "Ah."
"So what do you say, Perseus?" Albus asked, getting back onto his feet. "Will you learn at my school?"
He looked at the ground in sadness. "You want me to leave my country… my friends."
Albus Dumbledore sighed. "Yes, I'm afraid that's true."
"What if I could ask a favor of you?"
Percy's words shocked the man. He wasn't expecting the boy to ask a favor.
"Absolutely." Albus said.
"In exchange for me going to your school and joining the Ministry… I want my friends to be invited into the school also."
Albus was silent. "Your friends are demigods, Percy Jackson, what you are asking of me is impossible."
"Not all of them!" Percy said. "Annabeth is a witch, too. She got her letter from Ilvermorny! That's the American wizarding school. So did Silena. I'll come to your school and do everything you ask me to if you let them come too."
Albus was silent for another moment before extending his hand to the child. "You have a deal."
Percy shook his hand, grinning from ear to ear.
A sound emitted from the door at the front of the hallway.
"Percy, I've told you a thousand times that when you're home alone you need to lock the door behind you." A male's irritated shout came from the doorway. "Where are you?"
"I'm in the living room." Percy called. "What are you doing home early, Luke?"
"Mom sent me ahead." Came his annoyed reply. Luke rounded the corner and stopped dead when he saw the visitor sitting on the couch. "Percy, who's this?" Luke's hand flickered towards his pocket, where he kept his sword inside a hidden pocket of his jeans.
Albus Dumbledore smiled at Luke. "Hello, Luke, I'm Albus Dumbledore. I was just talking to young Percy about a few things."
"Like what?" Luke said cautiously.
"He's letting me go to Hogwarts!" He said excitedly. "Annabeth and Silena, too."
"…Hogwarts?" Luke scratched his chin in thought. He had begun to grow a beard since he had gotten older, and it sort of suited him. "Didn't mom mention that at some point?"
"Yeah. She always said she wished she could have gone there instead of Ilvermorny, but she never dwelled on it."
"Why are you going to Hogwarts? I thought you were going to Ilvermorny." Luke frowned.
"They're going to train me to become the Minister for Magic." He replied.
"Are you a wizard, Luke?" Dumbledore asked Luke.
"No. I'm a No-Maj. But thanks to Mom I know about this world, too. The Magical Congress made an exception to our case." Luke took a seat beside Percy, ruffling his hair as he sat.
"Gods, Luke. Do you always have to mess with my hair?" Percy complained, trying to fix the loose strands.
Luke shrugged. "It's what brothers do."
"I wasn't aware you had siblings, Percy." Albus said with an air of confusion.
"I'm adopted." Luke said before he could even open his mouth. "Sally adopted Thalia, Annabeth and me three years ago and we moved here."
Albus smiled. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Luke."
"You too, Mr. Dumbledore." Luke smiled confidently.
Dumbledore rose to his feet. "Well, Percy, I better be off for now. We will meet again before the start of the term."
"Okay." He got to his feet. "Nice meeting you."
Albus smiled one last time before grasping a wand from his pocket and disapparating out of the house.
"So what did he tell you?" Luke asked Percy.
He told him everything Dumbledore had told him—about how he was supposed to be trained to be the Minister for Magic, and our deal to let us all switch schools.
"Are you sure it was smart to bring Annabeth and Silena too?" Luke frowned.
"Are you kidding?" He scoffed. "Annabeth goes on for hours about wizarding stuff. She'll love the opportunity to study abroad."
"Well, I just hope that you know what you're doing, Percy." Luke sighed. "Something sounds fishy—and I don't like it."
"You're overreacting." He rolled his eyes.
"It's my job to overreact. I may not know a lot about all this magic stuff, but our world is hectic enough without adding magic into it."
"I know." He said. "But honestly I think the magic will make me a stronger demigod."
"You're already a strong demigod." Luke said. "Now you're going to be the best."
"Aww." He blushed lightly. Luke didn't sugarcoat anything—he always said exactly what was on his mind. "Thanks bro."
"Don't mention it." Luke said. "So what were you and Annabeth fighting over anyway? I saw her at camp and she looked ticked off."
"She thinks dolphins are creepy." He scoffed.
Luke's eyebrows scrunched up together, showing his confusion. After a long moment he spoke slowly, as if he were choosing his words carefully. "…You two were fighting… over dolphins?"
"Yep." He nodded, popping the 'p' sound at the end.
"You two are weird." Luke laughed. "First fight ever, and it's over dolphins."
"Yeah." He laughed. "My dad will get a kick out of that when I tell him."
"Have you heard from him lately?" Luke asked, turning the channels on the TV as he spoke.
"No." He said with a shrug. "He's been quiet for a while now, but he does that when he's busy."
"I get that. My dad's been busy lately, too."
He stretched in the chair. "Hey, put that building show on."
"Love it or list it? Come on Percy, we've watched that all week. I just want to catch up on Supernatural."
"Our life is supernatural enough. Put on my show!"
"We don't fight demons and angels! It could make us better demigods to watch that show."
"Luuuke!" He complained. "Gimme the remote!" He said, starting to climb across his lap to grab the remote from his hand.
"No!" Luke said, using his tallness to his advantage, and pulling it out of Percy's reach.
"No fair!" He whined.
"I don't care." Luke stuck his tongue out at him.
"I'm going to tell Mom!"
"She'll agree with me. She doesn't like that show. Something about No-Maj's building things upsets her, I guess."
"What about that show we like to watch together?" He thought for a second.
"The Real Housewives?" Luke asked.
"No, you like that show. I was thinking about Big Brother."
Luke laughed. "Okay, I'll see if that's on." He began to flip through the channels. He stopped flipping channels just as the door opened and Thalia and Annabeth came in. The two settled in the other chairs in the living room.
"Are you guys watching Big Brother again?" Thalia asked.
"Yes." Percy replied.
"We just put it on." Luke said.
"The Real Housewives is on!" Thalia said. "Change it."
"Ugh! Not you too, Thals." He groaned.
Thalia shrugged, her spiky black hair bobbing at her slight movement. "What? It's a good show."
"The daughter of Zeus likes a romantic show. I'm surprised." He said with fake shock.
"And the son of Poseidon hates romantic shows." She said, her tone matching his fake tone of surprise.
"How about Love it or List it?" Annabeth asked.
"You guys are terrible." Luke complained.
"No." Thalia said. "I'm not watching that again."
"Let's just watch Big Brother." He said. "We all like this show."
"Fine." Thalia agreed.
Two months later
"Percy, are you sure you've got everything?" Mom asked him, flicking her wand around, pulling different things from my bedroom into his suitcase.
"Yes, Mom." He rolled his eyes.
"Dumbledore's going to be here soon." She said with worry. "You need to be presentable."
"Mom." He sighed in frustration. "Will you chill out please?"
"I'm sorry honey. I'm just so proud of you!" She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pulling me into a hug.
"Your wand is poking me in the eye."
She adjusted her hold on him with a sigh. "I want you to be careful out there, okay? It's far away."
"I know, Mom."
"Got Riptide?"
"Yes, Mom."
"Got your drachmas and galleons?"
"Yes Mom. Would you quit worrying? You're making me nervous."
"Mom!" Annabeth shouted from downstairs. "He's here!"
Mom ran her fingers through his hair, trying to straighten the mess that couldn't be contained. She grabbed his suitcase and together they headed for the stairs.
The living room was very crowded. Luke was sitting in the loveseat, leaving Annabeth, Thalia and Silena sitting on the couch. Percy waved to Silena as we walked into the room, and she gave him a small smile. Dumbledore stood in front of the fireplace, brushing soot off of his shoulders.
"Hello again Perseus. And you two must be Annabeth and Silena." Dumbledore said, looking at the two girls.
"Yup!" Annabeth said, shaking Dumbledore's hand enthusiastically. "I'm Percy's sister, Annabeth."
"Well, nice to meet you Annabeth." Dumbledore chuckled.
"Thanks for letting us come to your school too! I've always wanted to explore Europe, you know, it's the start of our kind of magic, and the home for all sorts of odd creatures that don't come to America. For example, did you know that mandrakes are indigenous to the UK? They don't grow in America."
"Ah, daughter of Athena I presume?" Dumbledore asked.
"How did you know?" Annabeth asked curiously.
"I happen to know a lot about demigods." Dumbledore said. "While we're on that topic, let me relay the rules regarding that to you all. In Hogwarts, we strive to keep everyone safe. For that reason, I will ask you not to use any of your demigod powers while on campus unless it's an emergency."
"Percy's the only one with powers, really. Silena and I just talk our way out of bad situations." Annabeth shrugged.
Silena laughed. "Talking is our super power, Annabeth."
"I get it." Percy shrugged. "And I won't use my powers at school."
"Thank you," Dumbledore smiled. "The Ministry has been notified about you three being demigods and they believe that you'll be more than safe at Hogwarts. Monsters don't come anywhere near the magical borders; magic is fatal to Greek monsters."
"That's comforting." Mom said. "I was worried."
"Protecting our students is the first priority, Ms. Jackson." Dumbledore said firmly. "These young heroes will be just fine."
"That's good to know." Mom smiled. "Now, you three be good." She said sternly. "I'm not afraid to write to your father, Silena. I just happen to know that Daniel would be very interested in his daughter misbehaving."
"Got it." Silena said with a laugh. "I'll be good."
"We'll write every week." He said.
"Good. You better." Mom pulled Annabeth and him into another bone-crushing hug.
"Mom!" He complained. Annabeth's words of complaints were lost due to being crushed into Mom's arms.
"One other thing." Dumbledore said. "Whenever the term starts the three of you will meet in my office. There are some things we must discuss."
"You can't discuss them now?" Annabeth asked.
"Not yet." Dumbledore replied. "Not everyone we have to discuss this with is here yet."
Annabeth, Silena and him exchanged a glance. He shrugged, giving Luke and Thalia a quick hug, while Mom practically crushed the life out of him.
"When you go through the fireplace and tell it your destination you need to say it loudly and clearly: Diagon Alley. I will meet everyone there. Perseus, you first." Dumbledore extended his hand to the fireplace, where a small bowl of ash sat.
Percy looked at it curiously before picking up a small handful. "Diagon Alley!" He said loudly and clearly, before stepping into the fireplace. As soon as he entered the fireplace he felt the sensation of being pulled in a thousand different directions. He tried to scream, but his voice seemed as if it was ripped out of his throat. He held onto his suitcase for dear life, watching the other fireplaces swirl in and out of his vision within a couple of seconds.
He stepped out of the fireplace, coughing violently, stepping off to the side just as Annabeth's form came into view.
"Are you all right?" A man said to my right.
Percy turned to look at him. He was tall, with dark skin and no hair. "I'd forgotten how much I hate the Floo network. Annie, you alright?"
"I'm fine." She coughed.
He set his suitcase down on its wheels and helped Silena out of the fireplace as she swirled into view.
"I imagine this must be very uncomfortable for all of you. Travelling across the world from Floo powder can be very upsetting." The man said.
Percy nodded. "Yeah, but we can handle it."
"Of course." He said. "I'm Kingsley Shacklebolt."
He extended his hand to him. "Percy Jackson."
"Always an honor to meet the newest Minister for Magic." Kingsley said, a small smile playing on his lips.
"You don't need to be formal with me, Kingsley." He frowned, not used to the special treatment.
"Of course, Mr. Jackson."
"Percy." He sighed. "Call me Percy."
Finally, Dumbledore's figure spun into view. He stepped out of the fireplace with absolute ease, wiping the soot from his shoulders once more.
"Albus." Kingsley smiled. "We have the entire building surrounded with Aurors, waiting for your command."
"Just tell them to keep an eye out." Albus said confidently.
"Of course."
"Now, children, follow me to your rooms. Get some sleep, because tomorrow you'll go to Hogwarts."